Goswell Road - The Dame Alice Owen's School Bombing

The Dame Alice Owen's School Bombing

On 15 October 1940, approximately 150 people were sheltering in the basement of Dame Alice Owen's School, then situated on Goswell Road. A large parachute bomb hit the building directly, causing the structure to collapse and blocking access to the basement. The blast wave from the bomb caused the pipeline carrying the New River to rupture, flooding the shelter and killing the majority of shelterers.

A memorial to the victims of the bombing stands in Owen's Fields at the northern end of Goswell Road.

Read more about this topic:  Goswell Road

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